Ecuador's Moreno signs decree ditching fuel subsidy cuts after protests

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno signed on Monday an official decree, repealing his own fuel subsidy cut that sparked days of violent, indigenous-led protests, and reverting fuel prices to their previous levels.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2ONJ80D

Trump Is Making Syria, and the Middle East, More Dangerous

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2MHVnsF

PHOTOS: Typhoon Hagibis leaves dozens dead in Japan

The storm dumped record amounts of rain, causing rivers to overflow their banks and turning many neighborhoods into swamps.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2MeblMm

Assad troops enter north-east Syria after Russia-backed deal with Kurds

Bashar al-Assad’s forces swept into cities across northeast Syria for the first time in seven years on Monday after the West’s former Kurdish allies agreed to a Russian-brokered deal to try to hold off a Turkish attack.  The Syrian regime’s black-and-red flag went up across the region as Russia seized on Donald Trump’s abandonment of the Kurds to restore Assad’s rule over swathes of territory he has not controlled since 2012.  Assad’s troops clashed with Turkish-backed Syrian rebels outside Manbij, a key city on the Turkey-Syria border where US forces are evacuating on Mr Trump’s orders.  Western officials are watching closely to see if the skirmishes escalate into a direct confrontation between Turkey and the Syrian regime, or whether Russia can broker another deal to keep the two countries from clashing. Several European countries joined France and Germany in halting arms sales to Turkey, as the EU put out a joint statement condemning the offensive.  A Syrian regime soldier waves the national flag a street on the western entrance of the town of Tal Tamr in the countryside of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on October 14, 2019 Credit: AFP Fears were also rising over an Islamic State (Isil) resurgence as it emerged that US forces had failed to secure dozens of the most hardened jihadist fighters, and Isil prisoners once again rioted against their Kurdish guards.  Mr Trump suggested the Kurds were deliberately freeing Isil prisoners in a bid to get the West’s attention, a talking point that has been repeatedly used by Turkey’s government to discredit its Kurdish enemies.    Assad’s re-entry into northeastern Syria marks a dramatic redrawing of the lines of control in the war-torn country and likely signals the beginning of the end of seven years of Kurdish autonomy in the area.  Regime fighters began entering the provinces of Hasakah and Raqqa and were moving quickly to consolidate their control over long swathes of the Turkish-Syrian border with the permission of Kurdish troops.  The exact details of the agreement between Damascus and the Kurds remains unclear. Kurdish authorities insisted that they would maintain their political autonomy and that the deal was focused solely on military issues.  Syrian regime forces are pictured as they patrol a street on the western entrance of the town of Tal Tamr in the countryside of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on October 14, 2019 Credit: AFP But other reports suggested that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Western-backed Kurdish units who led the fight against Isil, would be folded into Assad’s army and that northeast Syria would come back under direct rule from Damascus.     The immediate focus of the newly-aligned SDF and Assad regime is to repel Turkish-backed rebels from seizing control of Manbij, a border city west of the Euphrates River which is currently in Kurdish hands.  The Syrian rebels, known as the National Army, said Monday night they had launched an operation to “liberate Manbij and its surroundings from the terrorist gangs”. The National Army claimed to have engaged Assad’s forces and captured a tank in a first round of fighting. The battle for Manbij will pose a test for Turkey, which must decide whether to back its Syrian rebel allies with airstrikes at the risk of sparking a confrontation with the Syrian regime. Turkey - Syria map Russia is believed to be relaying messages between the two sides to try to avert conflict.  Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, said he was determined to put the city under the control “our Arabic brothers” in the National Army. But while Turkish warplanes thundered overhead there were no reports they were striking Assad’s forces in support of the rebels.  US forces have been ordered to evacuate northern Syria but many troops remained caught up in the chaos as different armed groups maneuvered and the roads remained clogged with refugees.  Sen. Lindsey Graham Credit: AP The situation in northeast Syria collapsed into disorder so quickly that US special forces did not have time to carry out a plan to seize around 60 of the top Isil fighters in Kurdish custody, according to the New York Times.  US commandos had planned to take the prisoners from the Kurds and move them to Iraq but were unable to reach a key road in time.  It is not known if any British fighters were among the 60 men on the US list. America has already taken custody of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, the two surviving members of the “Beatles” group of alleged British executioners.      The report appeared to drastically undercut Mr Trump’s claim that “the US has the worst of the Isil prisoners”.  Mr Trump also said the “Kurds may be releasing some [Isil prisoners] to get us involved” in trying to stop Turkey’s offensive. Mr Erdoğan and other Turkish officials have made the same claim repeatedly in recent days.  The Turkish military released a video which it claimed showed its commandos entering a Kurdish prison only to find that the guards had released all the inmates. But Kurdish officials suggested the video was staged at an empty facility never used as a prison.  SDF guards at a prison were wounded during a riot by Isil prisoners at Ain Issa, according to Kurdish media. The Isil suspects still in Kurdish custody are panicked at the prospect they could be handed over to the Assad regime, which has a long history of torturing detainees.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2IMOkOv

Fort Worth Officer Who Killed Atatiana Jefferson Quits. Here's What to Know About the Police Shooting

Fort Worth Police Officer Aaron Dean shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson inside her her home early on Oct. 12. Here's what to know about the case.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35tTgl3

The Latest: 2nd person dead in building collapse

New Orleans' officials say a second person has been killed in the partial collapse of a hotel under construction. The city's Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness released the news on its Twitter feed. Officials called off the search Saturday night but will resume Sunday morning.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35wCCRx

Scrambling to limit damage, Trump tells Turkey to stop its Syria invasion

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday demanded Turkey stop its military incursion in Syria and imposed new sanctions on the NATO ally as Trump scrambled to limit the damage from his much-criticized decision to clear U.S. troops from Turkey's path. Vice President Mike Pence said Trump had told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Monday to agree to an immediate ceasefire.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2qg8nOZ

Turkish-backed rebels accused of killing unarmed Kurdish civilians

Turkey’s Syrian rebels allies have been accused of killing a prominent female Kurdish politician and at least eight other unarmed civilians as they advance into northeastern Syria, raising fears of further atrocities to come.  Kurdish forces also said 785 family members of Islamic State (Isil) fighters had escaped from a camp amid the chaos and warned the West that resurgent jihadists “will come knocking on your doors” if the Turkish offensive is not stopped.  Kurdish officials said rebel fighters intercepted a car carrying Hevrin Khalaf, a Kurdish political leader with Future Syria Party, and murdered her along with her driver and an aide.   “She was taken out of her car during a Turkish-backed attack and executed by Turkish-backed mercenary factions,” the Syrian Democratic Council said in a statement.  The Syrian rebels, known as the National Army, denied they were responsible for the killing and insisted their forces had not yet reached the area where Ms Khalaf was killed.  The car carrying Ms Khalaf was riddled with bullets But video footage appears to show National Army fighters surrounding her black SUV, which is riddled with bullet holes. The Arabic-speaking fighters step over a male body on the ground but there is no sign of Ms Khalaf in the video.  The footage suggests the fighters attacked the car from the outside, rather than stopping it and dragging out its occupants. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said the rebels had killed at least eight other civilians as they advanced towards the strategic M4 motorway with the support of Turkish airpower.  Another video appears to show several Arabic-speaking fighters shooting an unarmed man on the side of a road. “God is great,” cries one man in the video, before urging a comrade to film him shooting the corpse with a sniper rifle.  The Syrian rebels take arms and directions from Turkey Credit: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Western-backed Kurdish fighters who led the fight against Isil, have repeatedly warned that Turkey’s rebel allies are “jihadists” whose share the ideology of al-Qaeda-linked groups in northwest Syria.  In social media posts, National Army fighters sometimes use the language of Islamist extremists, referring to themselves as “soldiers of the caliph” and promising to fight “Gods' enemies, atheists, and those filthy Arab infidels beside them”.  The National Army committed a spree of murders and looting when they seized control of the border town of Afrin from Kurdish forces last year, according to human rights groups.   Turkey says the Syrian rebel forces will be at the forefront of its operations against Isil once the campaign the SDF is completed. But in social media videos, the fighters express more appetite for fighting the Kurds and the Assad regime than the jihadists. Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters walk together near the border town of Tel Abyad, Syria Credit: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi Elizabeth Tsurkov, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said not all the Syrian rebels held extremist ideology and many were motivated by Turkish financial incentives.  “The main ideology they hold is sectarian: they anti-Kurdish and they are Arab chauvinists,” she said.  She added they were unlikely to be effective at combating Isil in northern Syria. “If we look at the way these factions rule northern Aleppo we can see they are an ineffective counter-terrorism force because of their poor discipline and organisation.   “They do what they are told to by Turkey but they do it very poorly.”  The SDF also said 785 people from the families of some Isil fighters had escaped from the Ain Issa camp in northern Syria as it was forced to divert troops to face the Turks.  The SDF said the women and children had managed to get free from the  camp, where thousands of Isil family members are being held, and warned the international community there would be more escapes if the Turkish-offensive was not stopped.  “We call on all of you to shoulder your responsibilities and to intervene quickly to prevent a catastrophe that will not only affect Syria, but will come knocking on your doors when things get out of hand,” Kurdish authorities said in a statement.  The Syrian Observatory said it was “anarchy” inside the camp. There have been uprisings by Isil prisoners and their families at a number of Kurdish facilities in recent days.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/32dIwVE

The Latest: 2nd crane in danger of collapse

The second of two cranes towering over the site where a New Orleans hotel construction project partially collapsed two days ago is now considered in danger of toppling. Two other workers are known dead at the project site, which sits on the edge of the historic French Quarter. The coroner's office in New Orleans has identified one of two workers known to have died when a hotel under construction partially collapsed.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2phe9zl

Kurds agree to Russian-brokered plan to allow Assad into their territory

The West’s Kurdish allies on Sunday night announced they had agreed to a Russian-brokered deal to allow the Assad regime into their territory in a bid to spare their cities from a Turkish assault after they were abandoned by Donald Trump.  Hours after the US said it was withdrawing all of its troops from northern Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it had reached an agreement to allow Bashar al-Assad’s troops into their territory.  “If we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people,” said Mazloum Kobani Abdi, the commander of the SDF.  It was not immediately clear if the agreement with Assad would bring a halt to the Turkish offensive or if the Turkish military and its Syrian rebel allies would continue to advance.  But the deal appeared to strike a death knell for Kurdish hopes of maintaining autonomy from Damascus in their own semi-state in northeast Syria.  Read more | Syria crisis The announcement marked a stunning fall for the SDF, who just a week ago could count on the support of the US military in deterring Turkey from taking action.  That security came to an end last Sunday night when Mr Trump told Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s president, the US would not interfere in a Turkish attack on northeast Syria. “The betrayal process is officially completed," an SDF official said of the US withdrawal.    Turkish warplanes thundered into Syrian airspace while Turkish-backed rebel forces advanced against the SDF on the ground and on Sunday night Kurdish commanders decided they had to strike a deal to prevent annihilation.  While the formal details of the agreement were not announced, Syrian regime forces appeared poised to enter many of the key Kurdish-held cities along the Turkish-Syrian border, including Kobani, Manbij and Qamishli.  Many of the areas hold vast symbolic importance for the Kurds, who have lost 11,000 men fighting against the Islamic State (Isil) in the last five years to free those cities from jihadist rule.   A woman sits in the back of a truck as they flee Ras-al-Ain The announcement came after Mark Esper, the US defence secretary, said he and Mr Trump had decided to withdraw all 1,000 US troops from northern Syria because the Turks “likely intend to expand their attack further south than originally planned”.  “We have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies and it's a very untenable situation,” he said on Sunday morning.   While Mr Trump said last week he was removing around 50 US commandos from a 120km section of the Turkey-Syria border, hundreds of other American soldiers remained near Kurdish key cities like Kobani and Qamishli.  News of the US retreat sparked panic across northern Syria as civilians, who believed their towns might be spared from Turkish onslaught by the presence of American forces, started fleeing their homes. At least 200,000 people have been displaced so far, aid groups said, and the number is likely to rise. The town of Ras-al-Ain in flames The decision came as civilian casualties mounted and Islamic State prisoners took advantage of the chaos to mount a mass escape. Kurdish authorities said early on Sunday around 785 women and children escaped from a camp in Ain Issa when it came under attack from Turkish shelling. Isil inmates “attacked the camp guard and opened the gates” while Kurdish forces were under fire, authorities said.  Tooba Gondal, a notorious British Isil recruiter from Walthamstow, and her two children, may have been among those who fled and her whereabouts were unknown on Sunday night. Ms Gondal travelled to Syria to join Isil in 2015 and has been accused of grooming other young British women, including Shamima Begum, to follow her. There were unconfirmed reports last night that Ms Gondal had contacted family back in Britain to tell them she had escaped the camp.   The Telegraph understands at least three other British women, and reportedly three British orphans, were held in Ain Issa camp before the break-out. British Isil recruiter Tooba Gondal pictured inside Ain Issa camp The SDF warned the West the breakout may be the first of many and that the resurgent jihadists “will come knocking on your doors” if the Turkish offensive is not stopped. Mr Trump said on Sunday night that Turkey and the Kurds must not allow Isil prisoners to escape and blamed the terror risk on Europe for not taking them back. "The US has the worst of the ISIS prisoners. Turkey and the Kurds must not let them escape," he tweeted. "Europe should have taken them back after numerous requests. They should do it now. They will never come to, or be allowed in, the United States!" The SDF said Turkish-backed rebel fighters intercepted a car carrying Hevrin Khalaf, a Kurdish political leader with the Future Syria Party, and shot her to death along with her driver and an aide on Saturday. Video footage showed her black SUV riddled with bullet holes while Arabic-speaking Syrian fighters cheered. Turkey has said such fighters, known as the National Army, would be at the forefront of anti-Isil operations once the Kurds were defeated.  While US officials insisted America was opposed to the Turkish invasion, Mr Trump struck a laissez-faire note in a series of Sunday morning tweets. Plight of the Kurds | Timeline of Western involvement “The Kurds and Turkey have been fighting for many years,” he noted. “Others may want to come in and fight for one side or the other. Let them!” The US has yet to slap any sanctions on Turkey for the assault, despite White House warnings that it would target the Turkish economy if the offensive led to a humanitarian crisis or disrupted anti-Isil operations.  Both outcomes have already happened. At least 60 civilians have been killed in northern Syria and 18 civilians have died from Kurdish shelling in southern Turkey since last Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory.  France and Germany both announced they were halting arms sales to Turkey but the UK did not match their announcements. Britain approved military export licenses worth £583m to Turkey in 2017, including licenses for attack aircraft and helicopters.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OLiPrY

7 Indigenous Pioneers You Need to Know

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2oxiBKl

Kurds announce deal with Damascus as Turkey pushes deep into Syria

Syria's Kurds have announced a groundbreaking deal with Damascus on a Syrian troop deployment near the border with Turkey, as Ankara presses a deadly cross-border offensive that has sparked an international outcry. The announcement on Sunday came as the United States ordered the withdrawal of almost its entire ground force in Syria. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the move to withdraw 1,000 US troops came after Washington learned that Turkey was pressing further into Syria than expected.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VCQLZ3

South Korean pop star Sulli found dead at her home

South Korean pop star and actress Sulli was found dead at her home south of Seoul on Monday, police said. The 25-year-old was found after her manager went to her home in Seongnam because she didn't answer phone calls for hours, said Kim Seong-tae, an official from the Seongnam Sujeong Police Department. "The investigation is ongoing and we won't make presumptions about the cause of death," said Kim, adding that security camera footage at Sulli's home showed no signs of an intrusion.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2B9oxf3

Malaysia to study impact of India's planned trade action

Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his government will monitor the trade situation with India, which is reported to be considering trade curbs on the Southeast Asian nation over his criticism of actions in Kashmir, news wire Bernama reported. Government and industry sources told Reuters last week that New Delhi is looking for ways to limit palm oil imports and other goods from Malaysia, in retaliation for Mahathir's speech at the United Nations in September when he said India had "invaded and occupied" Jammu and Kashmir. Malaysia had said it did not receive "anything official" from India.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35Gt5rs

'No forgiveness for this one': Outrage builds over police shooting of Fort Worth woman in her home

The family of a black woman fatally shot by police in her Fort Worth home after playing video games with her nephew is demanding justice.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2B8XwZ0

Pope's bodyguard resigns over new financial leaks scandal

The Vatican's latest scandal claimed its first victim Monday as Pope Francis' chief bodyguard resigned over the leak of a Vatican police flyer identifying five employees who were suspended as part of a financial investigation. The Vatican said its police chief, Domenico Giani, bore no responsibility for the leaked flyer but resigned to avoid disrupting the investigation and "out of love for the church and faithfulness" to the pope. Giani, a 20-year veteran of the Vatican's security services, has stood by Francis' side and jogged alongside his popemobile during hundreds of public appearances and foreign trips.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2MEucyX

Hunter Biden will resign from board of Chinese firm, says he won't serve on foreign boards if Joe Biden elected president

In a statement, Hunter Biden said he would resign from a Chinese company's board and pledged not to join boards if Joe Biden were elected president.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VJ8o9B

Haiti's embattled president faces 5th week of protests

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti's embattled president faced a fifth week of protests on Monday as road blocks went up across the country after opposition leaders said they will not back down on their call for Jovenel Moïse to resign. While Port-au-Prince remained largely quiet, small demonstrations in other cities and towns come a day after tens of thousands of Haitians marched through Haiti's capital in a peaceful protest organized by artists. Business groups, church leaders and human rights organizations also have joined the call for Moïse to step down amid anger over corruption, inflation and scarcity of basic goods including fuel.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2B8xmG5

Kurds Ally with Assad’s Forces as Turks Advance into Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces struck a deal on Sunday with president Bashar al-Assad's government to allow Syrian troops to reenter the northeast region of the country for the first time in years, following a withdrawal of U.S. troops and subsequent Turkish invasion of the area.SDF commander Mazloum Abdi outlined his reasoning for making the alliance in an article in Foreign Policy, writing that his forces cannot repel the Turkish military without the aid of allies, and that in the absence of American help his organization would be forced to ally itself with the Syrians and the Russians.“We know that we would have to make painful compromises with Moscow and Bashar al-Assad if we go down the road of working with them,” wrote Abdi. “But if we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people.”The U.S. presence in the region has for years prevented Syria- and Russia-backed militias from gaining control over the area. Kurdish groups had allied themselves with U.S. forces to combat ISIS following the latter's emergence during the Syrian civil war.The Syrian army quickly moved to take over certain towns including Tel Amer, the site of a previous battle between Kurdish and ISIS forces."I’m here to kick out the Turkish mercenaries," said one Syrian soldier quoted on Syrian state TV.President Trump announced on October 7 that he would be withdrawing U.S. troops from the Syrian-Turkish border in anticipation of a Turkish invasion of the area. Turkey plans to resettle 3.6 million Syrian refugees in the region once the conquest is complete, while it is also fighting Kurdish groups that it deems terrorist organizations.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2BcHXQh

Mexico Ambush Kills 14 Cops in Deadliest Attack of AMLO's Tenure

(Bloomberg) -- Fourteen Mexican police were killed in the western state of Michoacan in the biggest attack on law enforcement since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office.The slaying occurred in Aguililla, a town of about 15,000, Mexico’s Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection said on Twitter on Monday. Officers were ambushed at the entrance of the town by men in armored trucks, possibly members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent groups, according to TV network Televisa, which broadcast images of burning vehicles at the side of a road.Mexico has fought a decades-long war against drug gangs, with Michoacan serving as one of the deadliest battlefields. Lopez Obrador’s landslide victory in last year’s election was fueled in part by his promises to restore security. But homicides are on pace to break last year’s record, according to data through August, rising 3.3% to more than 23,000.The national government’s strategy focuses on education and subsidies for youth, along with deployment of tens of thousands of members from a new National Guard force to the most violent parts of the country. Reports of the police massacre came just hours after AMLO’s security cabinet at his morning news conference provided a summary of advances under his administration.To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Martin in Mexico City at emartin21@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ONDKur

The Latest: Louisiana governor says he expects GOP onslaught

Gov. John Bel Edwards is telling his supporters to brace for a barrage of national Republican efforts trying to unseat him in the five weeks leading to Louisiana's runoff election. The Deep South's only Democratic governor fell below 50% voter support Saturday night. President Donald Trump held an election eve rally urging Louisiana's voters to reject Edwards.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2MBcpsz

When Elizabeth Warren ducked and dodged on Medicare for All

Seven years before Elizabeth Warren said “I’m with Bernie on Medicare for All," she was campaigning for the Senate and didn’t want to talk about single-payer health care. Running a tough race against Republican incumbent Scott Brown, the first-time candidate repeatedly distanced herself from the idea. In one interview, she was grilled by New England Cable News host Jim Braude: He wanted to know if she’d support single-payer if she were “the tsarina” — in other words, if politics weren’t an obstacle.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/33vCFeJ

US officials are considering pulling nuclear weapons from Turkey, effectively severing the US-Turkey alliance

The US-Turkey relationship has soured over the past several years, but the US still stores as many as 50 B61 gravity bombs at Inçirlik Air Base.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/32bEbT0